Sergio Torres insists promotion is the goal after deciding to swap Crawley Town for Whitehawk.

The popular midfielder has agreed to sign for the Hawks when his contract at Crawley expires.

He is Steven King’s second summer capture at the Enclosed Ground, after snapping up former Crystal Palace and Macclesfield goalkeeper Lance Cronin.

The announcement of more signings is imminent as Whitehawk look to turn last season’s struggles in Conference south into a play-off challenge.

Torres was released by Crawley at the end of last season after four seasons at the Checkatrade.com Stadium during which time the Reds won promotion to the Football League under Steve Evans, reached the fifth round of the FA Cup where they played Manchester United at Old Trafford and then went up again to League One.

However, he found opportunities limited under Richie Barker and then John Gregory last season, culminating in his release at the end of the campaign.

A combination of a lack of offers to stay in the Football League and a desire to remain living in Brighton played a part in the 32-year-old’s decision to return to the non-league ranks with Whitehawk.

However, he insists the club’s ambition was the deciding factor in his choice to link up with the Hawks in time for the 2014-15 campaign.

Torres told The Argus: “Since I was released by Crawley I have been looking around and of course everyone wants to play as high as they can. I had a few options but nothing certain, nothing on the table.

“It came July, pre-season had started at every club, there weren’t many options in the Football League. I spoke to Kingy before I went away on holiday. He showed the interest and I appreciated that.

“When I came back from holiday Steve rang me again, we met up, he said he wanted to push for promotion and that is a big incentive. The location is perfect as well, as my wife loves living here.”